The pinnacle of surfcasting.

What do you consider the ultimate surfcasting experience?
And don't tell me a 12 pack and a dozen clams or some fresh bunker on a Friday night.
What event in your mind is the epitome of true surfcasting?

NJ Grand Slam.

20lb + Striper
12 lb + Blue
5 lb + Weakfish or 5 lb + Fluke

All caught at the Sandy Hook clothing optional beach while the Victoria Secret girls are working on their all over tans.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Kevnmary wrote:NJ Grand Slam.

20lb + Striper
12 lb + Blue
5 lb + Weakfish or 5 lb + Fluke

All caught at the Sandy Hook clothing optional beach while the Victoria Secret girls are working on their all over tans.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Yup im not sure i can beat that.....

Dj
For me it is being there on the sand and watching friends and family get into fish ....!!!

It's not about how much or what you catch its about having a great time...

For me it's everytime I step onto the beach or jetty with a rod in hand, I get a rush of memories from my childhood. My father was a great fisherman and I feel very close to him while walking and plugging a section of beach by myself in the fall and spring.

Who knows, I try and find fun in every trip…

If it is a blitz on the beach, hand a rod off to a little kid
Under the cover of darkness it is cool to get a fish in and back swimming before the person 10 yards away even notices
If it is dead slow, being the one to figure things out first and triggering a good bite
Big fish that swim away
Catching bigger tog off the jetty than most boats did all year
Helping an old man put a boat in at night and stumbling across a hatch
Hooking big blues on the flats
Hooking big blues headed out at the peak of the outgoing

Don’t know if they are pinnacles of surfcasting, but they sure do give me a rush

I like the night shift when the wind drops out with a full moon over barnegat inlet in springtime... something magical about it.

Jason, you left out having to swim back to the other side because high tide came in :..............

^That my friend is not the Pinnacle of surfcasting, just made me cold and wet…..but I would not hesitate to do it again, next time the dry top come along.

early spring clam bite 2 rods one hooked up in my hand and the other between my legs hooked up too gotta love doubles...spring huge bluefish on top water slapping plugs into the air..doubles onm the same plug is hard to beat!!!

jfp

hey Joe your best day is for me one that hurts and causes my brain cells to curd ... I hate throwing clams,,,the thought of two of those snots hooking up and not being able to enjoy either fight cause you got the wacky shuffle going on sucks.
the spring bluefish slapping topwater plugs is fun for sure,, but doubles suck for me,, I see it as trying to reel in a large plastic garbage bag.. I want One fish at a time,, doubles are good for story telling not for fighting.
of course this is said in truthful jest to my good friend Joe,, so now I'll share my vision...
Spring,,the fish are here,, bunker pods are moving up & down our coast,, people are getting into quality bass and blues. I don't have to travel to any Mecca,, they are here in our backyard.
I'm so in-tuned with my area I know all the best sand bars, cuts,drops,widest and deepest troughs for 4 towns beaches, descent local knowledge of many more north and south. Why? Because this is my pinnacle sport of choice and I continue to learn and improve making the most outa my outings.I think my next pinnacle sport is bowling.
So here it is my epitome of surfcasting....Those bass also play at night.. I'm out with two of my best fishing buddies,late night, waxing gibbous , they love this as much if not more than me! We opt to drive in one truck busting each other with positive nervousness of a good hunt--maybe-- ahead. We make a few stops working the surf in our leapfrog fashion without any results to get excited about, we move on.We see very few fishermen,, only one guy,Joe, fishing clams, who claims he caught many doubles.
Then a little magic happens we're throwing large metal lip swimmers,, bud to left hooks-up I hear they "whoop" of fish on,, then I hookup just as my other buddies silhouetted against night darkness is backing up a bass. We don't catch many but those we land are quality large fish that all swim off to play another day.
All fishing adventures start with preparation of equipment,, knowing your fishing area and hopeful expectations,, not catching fish are sometimes the best sessions of learning.Having the good fortune of being with friends and catching completes the cycle. Its' not always about how many or how heavy that cements the matrix of true surfcasting.

rick u forgot casting our arms to death cause the bunker are five feet to far....how many times did i say or here i think i can reach them now lol!!!!!!!!!!!!1

jfp

The best for me is catching 20-25 lb Bass on pencils one after another until my arms wear out

Fishing IBSP this spring with the Smitty man!!! LOL

When experience, preparation, and opportunity all meet at the same place, the results are awesome.

For me, I can tell ya back in my teen years on the weekend....... it would start on friday night I would snook fish all night long catching fish....... then before first light meet up at the boat and head out trolling catching our limit on kingfish........ then moving on to grouper fishing and hitting the limit number there also.........


its alot more hard work to do this now....... but it can be done........ or maybe its just that I am getting old and cant hang like I use to

6 Weakfish over 12 lbs and a 30 lb bass in early may.

Watching joejr catching 20 to 25lb fish while others just look at him in amazement that this kid is out fishing elders..

WOW thats a god question. I love big water with a little danger. A big wind, cleats dug into a rock, getting smacked by waves, while having a good consistant pick of quality fish has got to be the biggest rush... Here is an example from my log of what I mean...

Report Date: MECCA 8/21

Fishing Report:
Mark D. took me up on my suggestion that the fishing was going to be good. I think he was glad he did! 5:45-9pm, NE winds about 30 knots, rainy, with waves 5-7’ on the south side. When we get conditions like this I get a little loony tunes, the cheese begins to fall off the cracker, and who knows what my charters are in for—who cares as long as its fish!! We hit the town beaches first to find no fish, then we got deeeeeeeeeeeep on the south side at a very productive big water spot. The first area we hit was all munged up, the second area was a little mungy but fishable. We were into fish almost immediately on 1.5 oz white and lime bucktails with red rind. With waves battering are torso and knocking us from our perches we battled fish after fish. Hell, we lost count! Most of them legals and above, with a few shorts mixed in. At one point I was bringing in a low teen striper, as a wave broke through my body, picking me off my rock and dumping my beaten corpse into the teeth of the white water. As I was dealing with this fish I saw Mark nearly get yanked off his perch from the strike of a tremendous striper. Mark yelled over the roar that he had a “very nice fish on”. I finally managed to get my fish off the bucktail, and hop back onto my perch. At that point Marks rod was bent in half and his drag was screaming. I know how tight Marks drag was, as whenever I am fishing single hooks in MECCA the drag is extremely tight. There is no doubt in my mind that this was a mid 40+ fish. As Marks eyes were bugging out of his head he saw her tremendous tail. Soon after that she must have turned her head a little and caught the power pro on a rock. This was a fish that I will personally never forget, as I do not forget any of the true cows that have been lost. I remember Mark asking if there was anything he did wrong. “ There is nothing you could have done” I responded. If nothing else we as fishermen should be happy to have a true monster like that on, and lost her knowing that it was not the angler or the anglers equipment that was at fault. During our dark walk back to the buggy, I tripped over a rock and fell on several others, banging the hell out of my elbow and hands. From this I got the feeling of nausea and weakness as if something had been broken. Thank God nothing was broken, just banged up pretty good. I mention this because somehow it made me feel a little older. Ya always learn something in the suds, if not about fish, about yourself. I am back out Thursday night—Stay tuned!!

Wow...the great Wetzel!!
Good story-you're gettin me stoked!
Wetz is a great bassman and a super Montauk guide he has taught me a lot!!

I want to input on the pinnancle of surfcasting. For me it may be the anticpation of an upcoming trip, it is very cool, I go sleepless for days and my thoughts are all consuming of the bass I target. I get so jacked up to go!!
Then there is the actual fishing, IB's north jetty on a black night in October with a building nor'easter, a flat night in June tossing heads for cows, but probably for me I would say the best is the call of the road. I love working the islands over, Montauk (LI!!), Block, Cutty, MV, all lands of endless op's. All winter I think about slick muddy paths that lead to the beach, you wade out in the night (your a fool by normal man's standard) as the swell hits and you find a good rock and you take your spot. You cast into the dark and then a good strike comes and your drag bitches. In a short time you have a good 15 pounder splashing at your feet. Then an hour later a heavy-weight finds interest and its game on!
Endless scenery, awesome sunrises and sets (they're always better on an island), watching a lazy moon rise in the east. God it is good stuff.